Family
by lrhaboggle
Summary: After Cora's own family disowns her for being a lesbian, Cora finds a new home and it couldn't have been any more different than the one she left behind.


"Pass the crumpets!" Sachiko Joo Hee clapped at once.

"Get it yourself, lazy rat!" Aprella Christelle teased, ballet uniform still on. She was speaking with her fake French accent again.

"Hey! Don't offend the rats!" Emily pouted. Currently resting on her lap were her two pet rats: Sirs Edward and Basil.

"Don't worry, Emily," Veronica murmured, kissing the heart-shaped scar on her cheek warmly.

"Eeew!" Anne teased. Sarah, Lucina and Ursula laughed.

"Now, now!" Jolie Vercona huffed importantly. Being the eldest, she considered herself their captain. Beside her, Margaret Amalthea also puffed up her chest. She was the youngest and she adored JV. This earned an amused laugh from Contessa who was busy devouring her food.

"Just pass the bloody crumpets!" Sachiko Joo Hee repeated tiredly.

"Watch your language!" Victoria frowned. Sachiko Joo Hee had the grace to look sheepish before turning back to the crumpets impatiently.

"Now, now dear," Hans chuckled, patting his wife. "Let the girls have their fun. They're only children, after all!"

"Hans, almost half of them are full adults!" Victoria huffed.

"They're still children to me!" Hans replied as though that settled things. Victoria rolled her eyes, but when Hans pressed a kiss to her cheek, she relaxed, placated at once by his touch. But had the plump lady settled when Sarah began putting ink in one of her many sisters' tea cups.

"Sarah!" Victoria snapped at the girl.

"What, Mama?" Sarah asked, trying and failing miserably to look innocent.

"Oooh, you got caught! You got caught!" Aprella, Maggie and Contessa all sing-songed. Victoria put her head in her hand while Hans smiled. Sarah smiled back innocently, then proceeded to pour more ink into more tea cups when nobody was looking.

June and Cora only watched the scene in silent affection, pressed up against each other as they drank their daily tea. It was 4:00. Tea time. And as the sideways antics of the wayward girls continued, Cora felt her heart swell with love for each of them. Her own family was so very different from this. The Steins were known to be very strict, plain and traditional. These Freemans, however, were anything but. They were wild, free, eccentric and rebellious and Cora loved them for it. Never had she imagined she would live with such a family, but here she was. After spending her whole life in a fancy, traditional house with fancy, traditional parents, she now lived with people who certainly lived up to their surname. And for all the trouble the 10 girls got into, Cora knew she wouldn't trade any of them for anything else. Her own family hadn't been anywhere near as lovely and loving as this one. Sadly, the circumstance of this change of family hadn't been the happiest.

The moment Cora came out as a lesbian, it was all over. Her parents kicked her out that day, sending her off with the warning that until she was willing to try and suppress these sinful desires, she was not a Stein. Their angry and disappointed faces were forever burned in Cora's mind. Of course Cora knew that coming out had posed this risk, but to actually have been kicked out, especially so quickly and bluntly, was a blow she wasn't expecting and the poor girl spent the next month roaming the streets, crying herself to sleep every night as she hoped that her parents might change their minds. They never did. Even now, if they ever ran into Cora on the streets, they would turn away. Cora had stopped trying to gain even the smallest bit of their attention. Instead, she fought just to survive. She didn't care about her parents anymore. Or at least, she tried not to.

Then June came along. Being homeless, Cora was forced to stay at a local shelter. It was a less than wonderful place that volunteers frequented. June was one of those volunteers but she was different from all the others. She was doing this not just because she wanted to help out or save a life, she was doing this because she was actually really interested in the lives of the homeless. She loved learning about lives that were different from her own. She would spend hours helping out just in order to get to know people.

It was this curiosity that led to her meeting Cora in the first place. June was helping pass out a small meal to everyone when she ran into Cora. After giving Cora her portion, June sat down beside her and just started asking questions. It sort of scared Cora because she was so unused to human interaction, especially friendly interaction, but there was just something so different and so open about June that it didn't feel like talking to a real person. It was hard to explain, but June had a way with naturally drawing out the chatty side in everyone and Cora was no exception.

Following that one dinner and talk, the two became friends and whenever June came to help the shelter, she always set aside some time to talk with Cora. It touched Cora like nothing else because, by this point, she believed that nobody would ever love her again or think she was worthy of their attention. June had totally proven her wrong. And back then, Cora's favorite aspect of June was probably how open-minded she was. She was working at a shelter full of societal outcasts and black sheep yet June treated every single one of them as equals and humans. Even Cora.

Then June popped the question. She had asked so bluntly, though, that Cora's following answers weren't the most eloquent.

"Do you want to move in with me?" the blond asked. Cora stared at her for a solid minute before finally replying.

"What? You mean like, live in your house with you as a family member?" she asked dumbly. June nodded. "But why?"

"Because I like you," the blond shrugged. "Like, I really like you. And I kind of want to see where this would go."

"So you're gay?" Cora asked as a reflex, then inwardly cringing at her lack of tact.

"Bisexual," June responded, not missing a beat and stunning Cora in the process for two reasons. One was that June was bisexual and two was that she was open. The very confession that ruined Cora's life was something June was able to say as easily as though she were mentioning the weather. Cora wasn't sure if she was awed, offended, or jealous.

"And your family is ok with it?" Cora dared ask once the shock of June coming out finally faded a little.

"Two of my sisters are lesbian," June responded. In that simple statement, Cora knew she had found a home. Though she was still a bit floored by June and how open she was and though Cora still had a hard time imaging parents who didn't mind a sexual deviant for a child, she couldn't help but hope. When June saw her doubtful expression, though, Cora was forced to come clean.

"My own parents weren't too happy when I came out," she confessed. "They kind of told me I wasn't allowed to be their daughter until I was willing to at least try and be straight and I suppose that kind of made sense and was sort of fair because they were only asking me to try, but I just didn't really _want_ to try, so maybe I do deserve this. They gave me a choice, as my parents, and I disagreed. That was the deal," she explained. She had given this confession with her eyes shut, trying to get it all out as fast as possible. Once it was over, however, Cora opened her eyes again. She had never seen June looking so _angry_.

"If we ever see them, be sure to point them out!" she insisted, green eyes blazing. Cora had promised, though she wasn't sure she'd actually make good on it. As much as she wanted to see what June would do, she would rather not have any blood spilled, even if it was her parents' blood. And she most certainly didn't want that blood to be from the girl she loved. The girl she loved. Cora had known that she loved June, but to actively think it was something else entirely. It was scary and wonderful at the same time and it was what finally drove Cora to accept June's gracious offer, though she was still just a little scared.

"My parents will love you!" June vowed. "Besides, we've got room for you! You don't need to keep offering to repay us. We've got it covered," she added. From that day on, Cora was an honorary Freeman. It was funny, though, how opposite June's life seemed from Cora and Cora wasn't even thinking about family dynamics at this point. The mere physical aspect of their home lives were what amused Cora now. Cora's house had been large and fancy and very standard. June's house was short but wide and was a strange mix of new and old. It was like looking at a house that was constantly under construction yet the job was never finished because the moment one room was done, another one needed repairs, so there were both old and new features to the place. But despite that fact, June's house seemed so warm and friendly and cute whereas Cora's always felt more like a decorative piece. It was livable but it always was so clean and clear. It had almost made the place intimidating, though Cora didn't really realize it until seeing June's messy little home.

And once again, as Cora would come to know, June had nine sisters. Cora had been an only child. Having to live with nine others definitely took some acclimation, but Cora did it. So even though Cora feared rejection from the Freemans, she felt brave when she stepped over the dirty old threshold into the messy, skewered kitchen. Again, Cora mentally noted that her family would've had a fit at such deplorable conditions, yet June seemed perfectly at home. God, they were different!

But the house and June weren't the only shocking things Cora would see while living with the Freemans. The Freemans themselves, as people and not numbers, were quite unique. They did all share the same blond hair and green eyes that June did, but their personalities and body types were diverse enough that Cora could still tell them apart despite how similar they looked externally. Hans, the patriarch, was thin but strong. He was a wiry and goofy man. Victoria, the matriarch, was plump and fierce, with a sharp tongue and a strong hand, but she did have a soft spot for all her children and that included Cora now. Victoria didn't discriminate. Then came June's nine crazy sisters, each of varying age, size and personality. June was on the older end of the family but that meant nothing because the older sisters were just as bad as their younger sisters. In addition, just like June had promised, two of her sisters were involved with other women. Cora was still astounded at how little the Freemans cared about this. The Steins would've considered it unbecoming of a young woman, and not just because the Bible condemned it, but because nobody else ran around with a partner of the same sex. Unless it was a Freeman.

It was seeing how casually the Freemans viewed life that made Cora realize that she finally was in a good place. That wasn't to say she was totally miserable under her old parents, but they had been so stiff and dull, almost robotic. These people were bursting with life and it was something that Cora really liked the feeling of. From the first moment Hans had slapped her back and Victoria had picked her up in a bear hug and June's nine sisters had flocked around her like eager puppies looking at a new friend, Cora knew she was home. It was so much warmer than where she had come from. She would be truly happy here. But what really cemented it wasn't this greeting nor was it getting her own room nor was it the welcoming party, it was the kiss from June.

"So you'll stay?" the blond asked breathily as she pulled away from Cora's soft, warm lips.

"Uh-huh," Cora muttered dazedly, earning a small smirk from the blond she had just kissed. The rest was history.

"Sorry about all of this," June whispered as another crumpet went flying. It bounced into and then back out of a saucer of tea, staining part of the already browning table cloth with a fresh coat of sugar water. A few shrieks of laughter and a few indignant shouts came from the nine sisters. Victoria was still looking exasperatedly on while Hans, who had since resigned himself to these antics, grinned serenely.

"Jerkface! Give me my fan back!" Sachiko Joo Hee snapped, lunging across the table at Maggie who quickly slapped the fan into Contessa's hands who then proceeded to take a bite out of it, earning a cry of disgust and fascination from the others.

"Contessa, we don't eat our accessories!" Victoria sighed.

"What does it taste like?" Hans asked. Victoria shot him another look.

"It tastes like paper and ink!" Contessa cried, then she took another bite out of it.

"Gross!" one of the other sisters remarked, then another crumpet went flying.

"Ouch!" Emily snapped, her movement causing her pet rats to wake up. June slapped her forehead as their squeaking mingled with her sisters' various antics and arguments.

"About what?" Cora asked again after June apologized, turning to her new lover with a teasing smile. June smiled in relief when Cora said this. Though June was still furious at Cora's family for disowning her, it brought her a massive sense of pride and joy to know that she had given Cora a place to stay and if Cora was willing to put up with the Freeman Family Freak-Outs, then June knew she had found a girl she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The only question was how to pop that question and really bring Cora into the family, though in everybody else's mind, Cora was pretty much family already and Cora absolutely loved the feeling.

 **AN: Just a pre-movie fic of when June and Cora were still alive and a couple. I loved the idea of Cora living with June because I liked the idea of her having to put up with a giant family. It always was my headcanon that Cora had a small, uptight and rich family while June had a giant, wild family. In hindsight, it's like comparing the Durselys to the Weasleys. And yes, June's sisters' names were references to Emilie Autumn's asylum characters. And double yes that June comes from a hotheaded family that kind of just dances through life, hence why same-sex love isn't a big deal for them while Cora's family, who is the more traditional American family, did mind.**


End file.
